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Final Destination: Bloodlines marks one of the legendary Tony Todd’s last on-screen performances. Given Todd’s recent passing, his monologue in Bloodlines hits extra hard. Bloodlines directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein revealed the reason for that is that they knew this would be Todd’s last Final Destination appearance and would very likely be one of his last on-screen roles.
Bludworth’s part in the latest installment of the long-running franchise was written with that in mind. Not only did the directors feel that Todd’s recurring character, Bludworth, deserved an origin story and a poignant goodbye, but they also decided to ask Todd to speak from the heart. And good lord, did he deliver. What we get is a beautiful goodbye from a beloved icon.
“We knew when we were working on the film that he was ill, so a lot of the concepts of how to integrate him into the movie were with that consideration,” said director Zach Lipovsky. “Knowing that this would potentially be his last film, we knew at the very least it would likely be his last Final Destination movie.”
Co-director Adam Stein added, “He kept telling us, ‘Do not write me out of this movie, I have to do this movie!’”
“We really wanted to craft something that was just a celebration of everything he’s done in horror and with this franchise,” Lipovsky continued. “Give him the chance to kind of have more of an origin story and get a little bit more information about why Bludworth is the way that he is, develop him out more as a human being rather than just a mysterious mentor figure.”
Beyond learning about the mysterious Bludworth’s origins, fans of not just the franchise but of Todd himself are gifted with a moving farewell. The goal was to “Give him a chance to say goodbye as a character to the franchise but also as an actor to the audience in some ways,” said Lipovsky. “We worked very closely with him on that, and ultimately, in the end, what we did was just ask him to speak from the heart. Throw the script away, and just tell us what this is all about. The take that’s in the movie that kind of ends the scene is really just him speaking directly to the audience from the heart, and I think that’s why it has such an impact. People come to these movies not necessarily expecting to cry, but I think that there’s such honesty in that moment from him, unfiltered, that it really hits your heart.”
As expected, Todd’s fellow castmates had nothing but praise for the late actor.
Bloodlines star Kaitlyn Santa Juana shared, “He was just a presence,” describing the vibe when Todd walked on set, “it felt like everyone went silent. He was so tall, he’s taller than he even looks. But also he just commanded attention in such an effortless way. He was so supportive of us and giving us advice, just chatting with us to make sure that we all connected. He was the kindest and loveliest, most graceful person ever.”
Part of Todd’s commanding presence was due to his iconic voice. Rya Kihlstedt agreed, “A legend with a voice that’s… velvet.”
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No spoilers here, all I’ll say is that in his final Final Destination appearance, Tony Todd urges us to remember: “Life is precious, enjoy every single second.” We will, Mr. Todd. We will.
Final Destination: Bloodlines is now in theaters. Watch our full interview with Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein below, (and find more with the cast on the FANGORIA YouTube.
If you want to keep the Bloodlines fun going, check out our interview with directors Lipovsky and Stein discussing the possibility of setting a new World Record, and the Final Destination cast discussing whether this franchise created widespread anxiety through the roof.
